Most beloved living legend?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Huysmans

Gretzky, along with Jordan, Ruth and Ali are the quintessential representatives of the best of the best for their respective sport.
There are literally only a few individuals in the history of sport, dead OR alive, that have reached Gretzky's level of supremacy.
Football doesn't even have as iconic an individual.
You mentioned Shaq?? He doesn't even register as one of the best basketball players, never mind an icon of the sport.
And yes, many Americans know the name Wayne Gretzky, let's not be daft.
The average American would recognize his visage over someone like Pele... without question.

Woods certainly had the potential to reach that level of supremacy, but as it turned out he wound up still short of Nicklaus, and despite his Masters' win it seems relatively unlikely he has enough left to get there.

As for football, I think Brady will end up as a near-consensus GOAT, although interestingly USA Today just recently ranked him 2nd, behind Jerry Rice.